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RIB MOUNTAIN, WI (WSAU) — It’s the type of event one might expect to see on “ESPN 8 The Ocho”- the fictitious oddball sporting event channel born out of the 2004 cult classic film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
And if the leadership team at Visit Wausau Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the Greenheck Turner Fieldhouse have it their way, it will be contested in Weston two years from now.
Both groups are finalizing a bid to bring the National Horseshoe Pitching Association World Championship to the Weston facility in two years. Visit Wausau CVB Executive Director Tim White says this is the type of event he wants to target for the Wausau area. “We want to get back to recruiting [major, national] sporting events to the area,” said White.
With that in mind, White sent Visit Wausau Director of Operations Jodi Maguire and a representative from the Greenheck Turner Fieldhouse to this year’s Sports Events and Tourism Association symposium in Portland, Oregon. Maguire says they spoke with representatives from about 20 different events, showing off facilities and what the area has to offer for a major event.
Maguire noted the event could have a local connection. The current world champion pitcher is an 18-year-old Wisconsin woman, meaning a successful bid could bring a home dirt advantage to one of the top players in the sport. “It would be really cool to have this in her home state,” said Maguire.
The event has traditionally brought between 700 and 1,500 players, or ‘Pitchers,’ to one location over two weeks. White says every community in the Wausau area will have to be involved, just like any other big event coming to the region. “If we get this bid we will have to work to bring in sponsors and partners, bringing them together [just like we will] for the NFL Draft [in Green Bay.]
“We’ll form a committee that will represent the communities. That committee will start the planning,” added White.
Visit Wausau’s application is due by July 1st. White expects a decision from the NHPA by the end of August.
This year’s event will be held in Kennewick, Washington. Next year they’ll be in the Salt Lake City area. Visit Wausau’s application covers the 2026 event and one more in a subsequent year, though there would be an out clause if the sides agree that the Fieldhouse doesn’t work for the event.
Wisconsin has hosted the World Championships once before. In 2003 Eau Claire welcomed more than 1,300 competitors to the UWEC campus, one of the largest fields in the event’s history. Other host sites have included Hibbing, Minnesota; Spearfish, South Dakota; Springfield, Illinois; York, Pennsylvania; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The event has been held in Canada twice as well.
The event has been held annually since 1990. The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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